


Unique Pancakes

by ShaunMurphy (whoopsydaisie)



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: Cooking, Fluff, Gen, Implied Child Abuse, Pancakes, So so fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-05 01:54:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14033616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoopsydaisie/pseuds/ShaunMurphy
Summary: Aaron believes that every pancake recipe is different, but honestly, that’s probably for the best.





	Unique Pancakes

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILER WARNING FOR 1X17
> 
> I was so upset about the outcome of the new episode that I sat down and wrote this in about an hour. I also wrote in celebration of getting a new laptop!!   
> Anyway there’s not nearly enough fic about young Shaun and Glassman smh I have to do all the work myself  
> (Also most of this is actually based on how my dad makes pancakes. He calls nutmeg the “Christmas spice” and he adds it to everything he can. He also never measures anything because he thinks it’s stylistic if he doesn’t. He taught me a lot about how to cook and bake, so this is pretty much how he and I make pancakes.)

"Hey, Shaun, could you grab the whisk for me?"

A tentative hand slowly reached into the cabinet, pulling out the desired object. Shaun handed it over and backed away as soon as the whisk met Aaron's hand.

"Thank you," Aaron smiled warmly at him. "Have you ever made pancakes before, Shaun?"

Shaun shook his head and stared at the counter like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Aaron wasn't really surprised at this. As far as he knew, things Shaun enjoyed doing included reading, looking at animals, and, well, more reading. Aaron was fairly sure that Shaun had never cooked before period.

"Well, I'm going to teach you, then. You know, Shaun, making pancakes is an important skill," Aaron started to explain. Shaun looked up in interest, encouraging Aaron to explain further. "Yeah, when you know how to make pancakes you learn the skill to make most things. Pancakes are kind of tricky because you have to get the consistency and flavors just right and flipping them can be quite a hassle. Once you've learned how to make pancakes I think anything else - at least cooking-wise - would be easy."

The corners of Shaun's mouth tilted upward slightly, soon replaced by the same straight line he'd had for days. Aaron worried about Shaun a lot; he wasn't sure how he should school Shaun or if he should get Shaun a therapist or if Shaun had any friends other than his brother (which he probably didn't) or if Aaron could provide Shaun with the love that he deserved.

"My mom used to."

Aaron raised his eyebrows at the soft comment. "Used to what, Shaun?"

"Make pancakes," Shaun said in a slightly sad voice. He began rubbing the fabric of his sleeves in between his thumb and forefinger as he looked back at the counter.

"Oh, I see. Were...were they good?"

Shaun nodded slowly. Aaron could see that Shaun was considering whether or not he should have brought it up.

"Well, I don't know if I can make pancakes like your moms', but that's okay. You and I are going to make our own special brand of pancakes. I think everyone has a different way of making pancakes, Shaun. None of those ways are wrong, they're just different," Aaron said quietly. Neither of them were sure if he was really referring to pancakes or not, but neither mentioned it.

Aaron pulled open his spice cabinet and dug around. He found some spices he used usually in Christmas cookies and similar desserts, so he brought them all out and set them on the counter with various extracts. Going to his fridge, he took some chocolate and fruit out, placing all of these on the counter.

"Any of these ingredients will work in pancakes, so go ahead and pick a few," Aaron encouraged.

Shaun looked at Aaron for a few moments before shuffling forward. Shaun regarded the many ingredients with hesitation before pointing to cinnamon with a shaky finger. He looked back at Aaron and immediately drew his hand back. Aaron's brow was furrowed, but it smoothed as soon as he noticed Shaun start to retreat.

"Sorry," Shaun whispered.

"What-Shaun, why are you sorry?"

"I picked the wrong one."

"No, no, there wasn't a wrong choice! I just thought you'd want to pick more than one, that's all. But if you want to only add cinnamon, that's okay. Cinnamon always adds a kind of warm flavor, don't you think?" Aaron desperately tried to back track. He had been trying to involve Shaun in an activity, but instead he had made Shaun think he was doing something wrong.

Shaun chewed on the inside of his lip and turned to look at the ingredients again. He seemed to be a little too deep in thought for someone deciding what to put in pancake batter, but Aaron didn't want to rush him. Finally, Shaun pulled out the bag of chocolate chips. Aaron grinned and raised his eyebrow mischievously.

"Chocolate chips are one of my favorites to put in pancakes, too! Come on, you can measure out how much you want," Aaron said, gesturing to the bowl.

"Aren't," Shaun swallowed roughly, "aren't you going to pick something?"

Aaron smiled a little softer and walked over to the side of the counter with the spices. "Sure, I am. Let's see...I think nutmeg would be a good addition. Nutmeg feels like Christmas."

"Christmas isn't for another five months," Shaun interjected.

"Yeah, but you can never be too early. I promise it'll taste really good with the cinnamon. Wait, you don't have an allergy, do you?"

Shaun shook his head. Satisfied, Aaron promptly poured an amount of the nutmeg in the bowl. He handed Shaun the cinnamon and frowned when Shaun looked unsure what to do with it.

"How much do you want in the batter?" Shaun asked, looking at the cinnamon like it would bite him.

"However much you want. Honestly, it doesn't really matter and you're smart so I'm sure you'll pour in the perfect amount. Go ahead and put in what feels right, okay?"

Aaron watched as Shaun carefully poured in what looked to be about two tablespoons worth of the spice. That was a fairly decent amount for the amount of batter they had. Next were the chocolate chips.

"Here's what I think," Aaron said while opening the bag. "I think that everybody should have enough chocolate to fill their hands. That seems like proper measurement to me, so what we're going to do is we're each going to take a handful of this and throw it in the batter. I think that'll give the batter a final personalized touch, because nobody's hands will ever match the pair of ours. Does that sound good, Shaun?"

Aaron noticed Shaun begin to smile lightly and it made his heart feel warm. He pulled out a handful and dropped it into the bowl from about a foot above it. Shaun reached into the bag and took out a much smaller handful and he chose to pour it in the bowl near one of the edges.

"Perfect!" Aaron praised. "We just have to mix this and flip it and then we've got perfect, unique pancakes. Do you want to pour batter or flip them?"

"Pour."

"Alright, then go ahead and use the ladle," Aaron looked in a cabinet for his ladle and soon found that he had misplaced it. "Well, the ladle that would theoretically be here if I was just a bit organized."

"This one?" Shaun asked while holding a black ladle up.

"Yeah, that one. Thank you, Shaun."

The ladle spun a bit in Shaun's fingers as he walked to the stove with it. Aaron brought over the bowl and nodded to Shaun, inferring that he could pour the batter in now. Shaun considered him for a moment before pouring some batter into the hot pan. They waited a few minutes before Aaron flipped it. He kind of wished he could flip it using the handle so he could look cool to Shaun, but he unfortunately had to resort to using the spatula instead.

"And, that's one down. Before we make the rest, let's try this one," Aaron suggested. He cut the pancake in half and put the halves on separate plates. He drizzled a little syrup on his and then handed the bottle to Shaun who poured a surprising amount on his half.

"Bon appetit," Shaun said quietly. Aaron smiled at him as they both took bites of the most uniquely magnificent pancake either of them had ever tasted.


End file.
